The Effect of Naira Redesign Policy on the Wellbeing of Nano and Micro Scale Enterprises in Northern Nigeria

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effect of Naira redesign policy on the wellbeing of nano and micro scale enterprises in northern Nigeria. Primary data were obtained through structured questionnaire and interview method. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed to select 386 respondents from 13 wards of 2 LGAs in Zaria metropolis. Descriptive statistics, Shapiro-Wilk and Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests for normality, Wilcoxon signed-rank test and Cohen (1988) guideline were used to achieve the objectives of the study. Results of the socio-economic characteristics revealed that majority of the respondents were male (75%), married (61.4%), had some level of education, 89.12% did not belong to any relevant business association, 86% had no access to credit and the few that had, were majorly from informal sources in the study area. They mostly engaged in the businesses of buying and selling of foodstuff, snacks and drinks. The results further showed that owners of nano enterprises, due to the policy, experienced decline in sales, income, employment and consumption expenditure by 57.82%, 52.77%, 55.05% and 41.45%, respectively more than the owners of micro enterprises. Constraints such as bad financial internet services, insufficient supply of new Naira notes, increase in cost of doing business were among the major problems encountered by nano and micro enterprises as a result of the policy. The null hypothesis (H0) of the study was rejected and the study concludes that, the introduction and implementation of the new Naira redesign policy significantly affected the activities and wellbeing of nano and micro enterprises in the study area. The study recommends full orientation of citizens about any potential policies before they are implemented, provision of efficient and reliable financial internet services, severe penalties upon anyone who misuses a policy for personal gain, regardless of their status.